Voting flap heats up in Afghanistan

by Deb Riechmann - Nov. 26, 2010 12:00 AMAssociated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghan Attorney General's Office on Thursday announced four arrests in its investigation of fraud during the controversial September parliamentary election - a move some Western officials fear is part of efforts by the political elite to overturn the results of certain races.

The arrests are the latest development in the Sept. 18 ballot that was plagued by irregularities and voter intimidation. Election officials discarded 1.3 million ballots - nearly a quarter of the total - for fraud and disqualified 19 winning candidates for cheating.

Deputy Attorney General Rahmatullah Nazari told reporters that two employees of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission and two people working in the money-transfer business had been arrested and that a warrant had been issued for a third commission employee.

The election flap, heating up just ahead of President Barack Obama's December Afghan review, comes at a time when NATO and its allies need President Hamid Karzai's government to be seen as a strong partner in the war.

The international community views the election as a test of his commitment to reforming his corruption-ridden government since he was re-elected last year in a vote that was itself heavily tainted by fraud. The allegations last year nearly undermined the legitimacy of Karzai's government and pushed some NATO countries to threaten to pull troops and aid.

Election officials announced final vote totals on Wednesday for 33 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. About 2,500 candidates ran for 249 seats in the lower house of the Afghan legislature, leaving hundreds of losers. Many have staged demonstrations, claiming they were victims of phony vote tallies.

Releasing the final results now irked Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Alako, who claimed election officials should have waited until prosecutors finished investigating criminal allegations of ballot manipulation. Alako claimed earlier this week that money from well-connected Afghans, many of whom bank their riches in Dubai, heavily influenced the election results.

Once the investigation is completed - hopefully within a month - the results will be handed to the Supreme Court, according to Nazari.

The prospect of the Supreme Court hearing election cases has raised speculation among Western diplomats who allege that Karzai or his advisers are behind the attorney general's investigation and would pressure the Supreme Court to rule in favor of candidates backed by the palace.